


beginning within a dream

by hinabean



Series: Ghi’lyna Mahariel [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen, Rogue Mahariel - Freeform, The Fade, broken circle questline, dragonageden, mage!Mahariel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hinabean/pseuds/hinabean
Summary: Ghi’lyna has always been a hunter for her clan - until she was fated to be a Grey Warden. The gift of magic was something she wasn’t fated to have, until she finds herself in the Fade.Oneshot of my Warden’s adventures. For the prompt ‘fade’ for the Dragon Age Den theme week.
Series: Ghi’lyna Mahariel [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697668
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Dragon Age Den fic collection





	beginning within a dream

“Welcome home, da’len,” a familiar voice called out comfortingly. Ghi’lyna blinked, turning to look towards Keeper Marethari standing amidst the bustle of the clan’s daily routine. The motherly woman smiled, eyes crinkling with warm recognition.

In another direction, Lyna could hear Master Ilen instructing an apprentice on the proper treatment of ironbark. _It must be guided gently, not smelted like iron_ , she remembered from her own lessons.

Yet, even though everything felt right, something was off. Fuzzy, out of place. As if she were supposed to remember something and it was right there, on the tip of her tongue.

Ghi’lyna took a few measured strides forward, towards her Keeper. People looked towards her and smiled, welcoming her. She’d only been out hunting, so why was the whole clan focused on her?

“Da’len,” Marethari prompted. “I have something to gift you.” She retreated to her aravel, and Lyna followed, wrapped feet padding softly across the earth.

As the two reached the Keeper’s aravel, Lyna broached the silence with the question that had been itching to be let out into the air. “What is it you want to give me, Keeper?”

“Knowledge,” the older woman replied cryptically. “You have been my First for some time, da’len. It is time you were shown the knowledge your father preserved for us when he was Keeper of our clan.”

The Keeper paused, pacing around her aravel, and picked up a worn, clearly well-loved journal.

“Wait,” Lyna interrupted. “What about Merrill? She’s the clan’s First, not me.” The nagging in the back of her head grew louder, grating at her mind to just remember.

“What do you mean, da’len?” Marethari asked, brow furrowed. “Merrill is our Second. Your gift showed itself at the last Arlathvhen, do you not remember?” 

Ghi’lyna blinked, confusion boiling up in her stomach. The gift? But she wasn’t a mage. She’s a hunter. She’s a… a Warden. A Grey Warden, in the Circle Tower, helping the mages of Kinloch Hold.

“This isn’t real,” Lyna muttered to herself. “None of this is real. You’re not my Keeper. This is the Beyond and my friends need my help. I am their guide, as the halla are to the People. You can’t hold me here. You’re not real.”

As she uttered the last syllable, her frustration bubbling to the surface, the figure in front of her began to transform. Where the Keeper had stood inside her aravel, the clan’s camp faded away into an otherworldly plane around what Lyna could reason was a demon of some kind.

“We had hoped you would have been content to stay in the world we made for you,” the demon chastised. “You would have been happy.”

“ _Shut up!_ ” Lyna growled, lunging forward to swipe at the creature with her dagger. The air turned frigid with her outburst, and her blade crackled with energy before frosting over completely. The demon shrieked and writhed in pain as the blade hit its mark, and before Lyna could even think, she was just stabbing and stabbing and then there was nothing in front of her anymore. No demon, no Keeper, no clan. Just cold air and confusion.

Lyna glanced down at her dagger, silver eyes taking in the odd sparkle of the frosted crystalline surface of the blade. She could remember Morrigan using this spell a few times before - but Morrigan wasn’t here. That spell didn’t come from Morrigan. It couldn’t have.

The elf sheathed her dagger and shook her head to free herself from the perplexed circles she was running trying to figure out what had happened. Resolving to ask for clarification once everything was over, she instead grabbed her bow and took stock of her arrows before moving forward once more.

—

Through sheer willpower alone it seemed, Ghi’lyna found a way to each of her companions, freeing them from their own demon-induced dreams. She could hardly recall how she even stepped out of her own section of the Fade - the entirety of the Beyond was more a blur than anything.

An iced arrow found its mark deep into the eye of the Sloth demon that had trapped them, and the beast wailed in agony as it dissipated.

The next she knew, the walls of the tower were around her once more, and next to her on the floor were Wynne, Alistair, and Zevran.

The four were slow rising to their feet, disoriented from their time spent in the Fade. But Wynne was quick to evaluate everyone, assuring Lyna that no one was injured.

“Wynne,” Lyna said hesitantly. “Do you know if non-mages are able to use magic while in the Beyond? In the Fade, I mean.”

The senior enchanter glanced at her discerningly before shaking her head. “I have lived in the Circle my whole life, dear. Never have I known of someone using magic who was not already a mage. Why do you ask?”

Lyna pushed a hand through her dark hair, eyes wide. Her world seemed to be spinning. Her other and reached out against the wall of the tower to steady herself.

“I spent my life knowing that my father was Keeper of our clan before he died. Keepers preserve the lost lore and lost magic of the Elvhenan. I - I couldn’t follow his footfalls. I didn’t have the gift.” The young Dalish warden flicked her ears in a mixture of confusion and frustration. “I wanted to do as my father had done, but I couldn’t. We had to take Merrill from her clan because I didn’t have the gift. We had no other mage except for Keeper Marethari. But now? Now I’m a mage? I can’t.”

The broken resignation in Lyna’s voice brought a look of concern to Wynne’s face. The older mage reached out and placed her hand on Lyna’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to think about it now, dear. I understand your confusion and your concern. But let us resolve the issue with the Circle first. When we are safe, I can answer any questions you have.”

Ghi’lyna smiled tentatively after a few moments. “Thank you, Wynne.” She turned to the rest of her party and gave a more confident grin, grabbing onto her bow out of habit. “Now, let’s save some more mages, yes?”


End file.
